Diksha Sundriyal
The stories of three Viking warriors converge in Netflix’s ‘Vikings: Valhalla’ as the politics of the Northern kingdom is shaken up by one war or the other. As trouble brews in these kingdoms, we follow the story from the perspective of Harald and siblings Leif and Freydis. Each season, they face a new challenge, and as their personal stories develop, their paths diverge, even though they are always in each other’s orbit. By the end of the second season, all three of them find themselves in unique positions where they must reconsider their priorities and decide what they want from their future. The third and final season of the show brings us to that future by taking a time jump, which plays a critical role in pushing the narrative forward. SPOILERS AHEAD
The Time Jump Allows to Skip the Uneventful Parts of the Story
At the end of Season 2, we find Freydis in Kattegat, fighting for the last people who still follow the old gods, while Leif and Harald seem to be on a path that takes them further east and away from Norway. The season ends on a cliffhanger for the three of them as they are all at a critical point in their journey. Having killed Harekr and Olaf Haraldsson, Freydis has laid the foundation of peace with Kattegat, as Jomsborg now falls under her rule. All this happens while she is pregnant with her first and only child, who is now the most important person to her. Meanwhile, Leif and Harald chart their way from Kattegat to Novgorod and eventually find themselves on the periphery of Constantinople.
The second season delivers a very rocky part in the journeys of the three characters. Freydis goes from being alone to becoming the leader of the last pagans left in Norway. Leif goes from dealing with his grief and crisis of faith in any form of religion to discovering the power of science. On the other hand, Harald plans to amass an army before he goes back to Norway to claim his throne.
Having met such significant milestones, it makes sense for them to explore the meaning of their newfound positions before they are thrown into another violent struggle. This is where the time jump comes in. It gives its characters seven years for character development, which happens off-screen but is justifiable as we meet the protagonists again. It also does away with the need to dedicate more episodes to the comparatively uneventful times for the three of them, especially Freydis (who has firmly established peace for her people) and Leif (who will be completely immersed in studying science).
The Time Jump Allows to Wrap Up the Viking Era
For creator Jeb Stuart, the intention was to reach the end of the Vikings era, i.e., 1066, and wrap up the story of Harald, Freydis, and Leif in a way that gives the audience a complete picture of their journey. Considering how closely the show follows the real historical events and the timeline, it would have taken another season to focus on the seven years that the show skips at the beginning of the third season and another to focus on the events that lead up to 1066. However, the show’s creators had to find the point where they could give a satisfactory farewell to the characters while tying up all the loose ends.
The third season effectively ends in 1046, when Harald Hardad becomes the King of Norway and fulfills his dream and destiny, which he’d wanted since the beginning of the series. Considered the last real Viking king, Harald’s rule was full of its own adventures and wars, turning the fate of Norway in a new direction. Jeb Stuart wanted to explore that, but with the third season being the series’ final, he had to find a point where the main characters could be sent off on their own journeys. Harald gets what he wants, and Leif and Freydis reunite to go on their own adventure, which brings the story full circle and allows a fitting ending for all of them.
Read More: Vikings Valhalla: What is the Golden Land from Leif’s Dreams? Does He Find It?
